Aerial ladder truck



May 16, 1933. c. H. FOX 1,908,969

AERIAL LADDER TRUCK Filed June 25, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 @JMIIGIIIII 48Ea l 22 48 7 2 1 7 q, 5. J F

Jmm CHARLES MF x, W b

Momma May 16, 1933. C H 1,908,969

AERIAL LADDER TRUCK I 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1950 Jnmv CHARLESH. FOX,

Cutaway May 16, 1933. c. H. FOX 1,908,969

AERIAL LADDER TRUCK Filed June 25, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 CHARLES H. FOX,WWW/ 4M May 16, 1933. c. H. FOX

AERIAL LADDER TRUCK Filed June 26, 1930 6 Sheets-$heet 4 May 16, 1933.c. H. FOX

AERIAL LADDER TRUCK e Sheet s-Sheet 5 Filed June 28, 1930 M I a w n .3-H J r n HT 4 F 0 I J J F x E Q Hr s a 1 I II m A A MN P a I LI. I 1 \g mY H mm \M I III I .3 L\., I Il|lw .|llll wll llw. .lIIIWPIW I hM I |H WI I an? I I'...| I I I flIHWFI I nm w u D II. I. T Qw IH a Q g I m mm mE J J T? I I- I 1 v m M R 2 ,IR I fin a I If J L I 1 m LL AJI a a IN aman May 16, 1933. c. H; FOX

AERIAL LADDER TRUCK Filed June 26. 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 mm ow |\I\ N v4w 1 w m 9 w w Nu w\.\ mm NN mm .m 7/6 an MW mw $1 1M ulihm Rm m Q Q QMsw mw II|IHIII|JW I I !.|||.:|||1,. 1 I I 1 1| 3 \3 r v Q Q CHARLESH.FOX W W Patented May 16, 1933 Human stares earner curries- CHARLES H.FOX, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE AI'IR-ENS- FOX FIRE ENGINECOMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHEO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO AERIAL LADDER rauoxApplication filed June 26,

My invention relates to a combined aerial ladder and water tower.

It is an object of my invention to provide an aerial ladder that can berapidly erected 19 ladder which will serve as a water tower in that thebracing of the aerial laddercan be used for transmitting the water,thereby combining a telescopic aerial ladder braced against the effectof the load it carries and 15 the discharge of the water, and which willcarry water through the bracing for discharging the water to whateverdegreethe ladder is telescoped or untelescoped; and at the same time toprovide a ladder that maybe swung to any degree of rotation and elevatedat the desired angle.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a top plan view of the ladderextended;

Figure 2'is a diagrammatic v ew partly broken away to show theconnection between the respective braces of the respective ladders andthe connection to a nozzle when the bracing is used for conveying fluidto the nozzle on the upper end of the upper ladder when the apparatus isused as a water tower as well as an aerial ladder;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a top plan View of the .elevatmg and rotating mechanism onwhich the ladders are supported;

Figure 5 is a side elevation thereof;

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view of the upper end of the lower ladder andthe lower end of the upper ladder and of the guide sheaves and cablearrangement for extending or telescoping the two ladders; Figure 7 is atop plan view of the lower end of the lower ladder and its bracing;

Figure 8 is a side elevation thereof;

Figure 9 isa top plan view of the upper end of the ladder and itsbracing;

Figure 10 is a side elevation thereof; I

Figure 11 is a top plan view of the ladder 59' where they overlapshowing thev top of the 1930. Serial No. 464,089.

lower ladder and the bottom of the upper ladder and the arrangement oftheir bracing;

Figure 12 is a side elevation thereof; Figure 13 is a top plan view ofthe intermediate upper portion of the upper ladder; 5

Figure 14 is'a side elevation thereof;

Figure-15 is a top plan view of the upper end of the upper ladder;

Figure16 is a side elevationthereof;

Figure 17 is a section on the line 17 17 of Y invention.

cylinder 10 which is filled with oil on both ends of the piston andserves to either lock the position of the ladder or to regulate thespeed with which the ladder is elevated or 2 lowered. r I

The ladder is elevated through the use of air cylinders 10a. 10 is adashpot cylinder for regulating the speed of elevation or lowering ofthe ladders. The cylinders 10a are pivotally mounted upon the ring 2 bymeans; of the brackets 11 and' are caused to rock back and forth aboutthese pivotal'centers according to the upward and downward movements ofthe ladders. The piston rods 12'ofv these cylinders are secured to thetwo part bell cranks Mas at 13, the bell cranks being pivoted to theshaft 16. The shaft 16 is held to the frame 4 by-means of the brack-'ets 17. To'the other member 18 of the two part bell cranks is secured alink 19, the other 1 19 is a section on the line 1919of 65 is connectedto the piston rod 9 of the dashpot f end of which is connected to thelower ladder,

as at 20, beyond its pivotal support on the sheaves 24 on the axle 25.The lower ladder is also provided with a larger guide sheaf 26 carriedon the axle 28, which is held to the frame 4 by'means of the brackets27.

On the axle 5 ismounted a cable drum 29 which has one end of the cableattached to it, as at 30. 2 This cable extends beneath the laterallyslidable guide sheaves 24 over the laterally sli'dable guide sheaf 26and over pulley 31 carried on the upper end of the lower ladder andthence it is connected at 32 to the lower end of the upper ladder 22. Asecond cable 34 extends downwardly over one of the,

sheaves 24sto the bottom of the drum 29 to which it is suitablyconnected. The cable connected at 30 when wound on the drum elevates theupper ladder 22 and at the same time the cable 34 is unwound from thedrum; when the ladder is being telescoped the cable 34 is wound on thedrum and the cable that isattached at 30 is paid out. This drum 29 isoperated in any suitable manner, as by the hand wheel 35 which operatesa suitable train of gearing for the gear box 36. The ratchet 37a and thepawl 37 serve to retain the drum in any predetermined position to holdthe ladders in any extended position desired.

, Turning to specific features of my inven-' tion, it will be understoodthat heretofore the ditficulties with aerial ladders which limited theirlength, their size and. usefulness have resided in the fact that it wasdiificult to support a load on the top of an upper ladder and.

when such a load was applied with the lad der tilted at the usual anglethe upper ladder would bend over toward the ground and toward thebuildings to which the ladder was directed; and upon carrying a hose tothe top ofthis ladder, when the water was turned on the result would bethat the ladder would be driven. backwardly away from the building andwould bend in the other direction.

These regular and conflicting forces would cause the ladder to bend backand forth or wave and thereby .set up serious 'diiiiculties ladder.

in the handling of this'type of equipment.

It was further necessary to have two different types of equipment; onewas the aerial ladder and the other was a water tower. The

' aerial ladder was for the purpose of taking ing or for carrying uphose while the water tower was for the well known purpose of applyingwater at great heights. The aerial ladder of today has not been equal tosustaining the force due to the reaction of a heavy fire stream. Therehas been no means for strengthening the fly ladder or upper ladder insuch a manner that it would be sufliciently light and strong while atthe same time being capable of being extended. Any bracing that merelytakes care of the load which'is directly imposed upon the upper orworking side of the ladder structure is insuflicient. The difiicultywith water towers has been that the heavy fire streams they deliver arematerially lower than the top of the aerial ladders.

Accordingly, I have provided tubular trussesor braces of the followingcharacter:

Straight diagonally disposed tubular members 38 mounted at their rearends upon the brackets 17 and towards their forward ends upon thebrackets 39 on the side frame members l of the ladder, decreasing inwidth from the bottom of the ladder to the top, thereby forming atriangular truss with the side frames 4 of theladder. Supplementarybrace members 38a and 385 are attached to the brackets l'r' and the rod38 at its lower end. The weight of these supports 39 decreases as thetopof the ladder is approached and thereby 'the lesser the weight thehigher you can go up the ladder. This tubular member 38 being hollowserves as a passageWayfor water.- Its upper end mayhave connectedthereto as at 40,21. hose ll, the other end of which is connected to thediagonal tubular brace 42 carried.- on the bracket 43 on the side frameof thevupper ladder. This diagonal brace proceeds a short distance fromthe bottom of the upper ladder upwardly to the brace 4.4 where it isconnected by the union 45 to an upwardly extending tubular brace 46, theupper endof which may have connected thereto a hose 47 that in turn isconnected to a nozzle 48 that is carried on the upper end of the ladder.

These braces being carried directly on the side frames of the ladder donot interfere with each other or the braces of the respective ladderswhen they telescope. Such braces are light because they are hollow; theyare capable of conveying water and have the primary virtue of resistingload on the Working side of the reaction of the water from the otherside, so that ladder will not bend in either direction. To providetriangular trusses for resisting such load the major weight of the trussis. at the bottom of the It is optional whether the trusses will be usedfor conveying fluid or not. When they are so used I provide the combinedadvantage of a water tower and aerial ladder; I

eliminate the necessity of carrying the heavy hose to the top of theladder and'I provide a means of applying water at great heights to tallbuildings of present day construction.

The brackets 39 may be provided with slots for receiving thesupplementary braces 38a. These brackets 39 have a flange 49 rest ingupon the upper edge of the side frame of the ladder and a dependinginwardly arranged flange 50 on the inside of the side frame. 011 thisflange 50 are mounted stationary guide ears 51 and collars 52 whichguide the side frame and fly ladder. The collars 52 also serve tosupport the axle 25 on which the guide sheaves 24 are mounted.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my inventionsuch modifica tions as may be clearly embraced within the scope of myclaims and invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto seoureby Letters Patent, is:

1. In combination, transversing means, pivotal means for supporting aladder mounted thereon, means for elevating a ladder on said pivotalmeans, bracing on said ladder to take strains in both directionstransversely of the longitudinal axis of the ladder comprising adiagonally disposed tubular member mounted over the side frames of saidlad der and either side thereof on the front of the ladder, bracketsmounted on said side frames for supporting said tubular members, each ofsaid tubular members being arranged with its upper end closer the upperend of the side frames than the lower end and means upon the lowerladder for actuating an upper flyladderwhich is telescopically supportedby the brackets upon the first mentioned ladder.

2. In combination, a main ladder, a telescopically mounted fly ladder,means of guiding the fly ladder in telescopic relationship with the mainladder, means of extending and telescoping the fly ladder on the mainladder, brace members mounted over the side frames of said laddersdiagonally thereof and means connecting said brace members with the sideframes on the working side of said ladders and forming supports andguides for the fly ladder.

3. In combination, a main ladder, a telescopically mounted fly ladder,means for guiding the fly ladder in telescopic relationship with themain ladder, 'means for extending and telescoping the fly ladder on themain ladder, brace members mounted over the side frames of said laddersdiagonally thereof, means connecting said brace members with the sideframes on the working side of said.

ladders without interfering with the telescopic arrangement andextension of one ladder with respect to the other, said brace membersbeing tubular, and means for interconnecting the tops of the lower bracemembers with the bottoms of the upper brace members for con- 'veyingfluid therethrough irrespective of the relative positions of the saidladders.

4. In combination, a main ladder, a tele scopically mounted fly ladder,means for guiding the fly ladder in telescopic relationship with themain ladder, means for extending andtelescopingthe fly ladder on themain ladder, brace members mounted over the side frames of said laddersdiagonally thereof, means connecting said brace members with the sideframes on the working side of the said ladders without interfering withthe telescopic arrangement and extension of one ladder withrespectto theother, said brace members being'tubular, means for interconnecting thetops of the lower brace members with the bottoms of the upper bracemembers for conveying fluid therethrough irrespective of the relativepositions of said ladders and a nozzle connected to each of the upperends of said tubular brace members mounted on the upper end of the flyladder for the control of the fluid therethrough and therefrom.

5. In combination, a main ladder, a telescopically arranged extensionfly ladder, means for guiding the fly ladder on the main ladder, meansfor raising and lowering the fly ladder on the main ladder, brace meansforming diagonally disposed trusses carried on the side frames of eachladder, the brace means of the lower of said ladders having bracemembers that extend upwardly and inwardly toward the side frames and thebrace means on the upper ladder having brace members extending from theside frame upwardly and outwardly and thence upwardly and inward 1y,said brace members being tubular, means for connecting the upper ends ofthe lower brace members and the lower ends of the upper brace memberswhereby fluid may be transmitted therethro-ugh to the top of the flyladder without disturbing the extension and telescopin of the ladders.

6. In combination, a pair of ladders telescopically mounted one on theother, means for bracing said ladders and means for conveying fluidthrough said braces irrespective of the relative position of saidladders.

7. In combination, a pair of ladders telescopically mounted one on theother, means for bracing said ladders and means for conveying fluidthrough said braces irrespective of the relative positions of saidladders, said braces being arranged to prevent movement transversely ofthe longitudinal axis of the ladders in either direction.

8. In an aerial ladder, a lower ladder having side members, a bracket oneach side member, a brace for each side member on the bracket, eachbracket having an ear and a sleeve, an upper ladder supported and guidedby the ears and the sleeves, and a connecting member supported in thesleeves.

9. In an aerial ladder, a lower ladder having side members, a brace foreach side member including brackets, each bracket having an ear and asleeve, means in the sleeves for connecting the side members, and anupper ladder supported and guided by the ears and the sleeves.

10. In an aerial ladder, a lower ladder having side members, a brace foreach side member consisting of a longitudinally extending pipe andbrackets on the side members, each bracket having an ear and a sleeve,means in the sleeves for connecting the side members, a second laddersupported and guided by the ears and the sleeves, and pipes on thesecond ladderadapted to be connected to the firstnamed pipes and formingtherewith continuous Water pipes.

In testimonywhereof, I affix my signature.

CHARLES H.- FOX.

